Inside Marketing (Aug 23rd, 2019)

1. A social media scrum over a chicken sandwich has become the stuff of marketing legend. It all began with an August 12 tweet from Popeyes announcing its new sandwich, which this week evoked a (sub?) tweet from Chick-fil-A. That kicked off what The Takeout has since referred to as a “passive-aggressive chicken sandwich debate" that has been joined by Wendy's and Shake Shack. The attention reportedly caused the Popeyes sandwich to sell out, and inspired Jonathan Maze, the executive editor of trade pub Restaurant Business Magazine to exclaim “look at how much attention they’re getting — it’s impressive. All this is really going to do, frankly, is embolden other chains to do similar things when they introduce new products.” - ASSOCIATED PRESS

2. Victoria's Secret has admitted that its marketing efforts need a serious refresh. “Is there an opportunity to make meaningful change in our marketing message and approach for the fourth quarter? The answer is yes,” said Stuart Burgdoerfer, the CFO of L Brands (which owns VS) during the company's quarterly earnings call Thursday. “You’ve read that we’ve had changes in senior leadership in marketing, and I expect that there will be meaningful and hopefully thoughtful change in our marketing approach as we move through fall and into 2020.” The company has hung onto the same marketing theme (one creative I know called it "1990s Wonderbra lite" the other day) for decades, to the dismay of investors who have pushed for a more current approach. - BUSINESS OF FASHION

3. Google has announced the first changes to its Android branding since 2014. In a video posted to YouTube (where else?), the company launched a new marketing effort for the business unit, including the third brand refresh since the company's launch. In another video released Thursday, Android brand director Aude Gandon and brand lead Sydney Thomashow explain how and why the company has changed its look, with both saying that they were inspired by the product's history. You can see a timeline of the brand's evolution at Slashgear, and see more analysis of its font and color changes at AndroidCentral.

4. An AdAge staffer checked out Taco Bell's "Hotel & Resort" marketing effort. The well-hyped campaign, which ran in Palm Springs for four nights this month, completely sold out two minutes after reservations were made available this June. The event was populated by "reporters, plenty of influencers and a few Taco Bell mega fans," AdAge food reporter Jessica Wohl says, a wise move since virality was obviously the goal. It's worth reading Wohl's full diary from the weekend, but her most pertinent note might be that the entire weekend took 18 months to pull together, and is "one of the most extreme takes yet on a branded event." - ADAGE

5. LinkedIn has launched a feature to provide "actionable marketing insights." According to the platform, the LinkedIn Insights and Research page, which lives inside its Success Hub for Marketers, will "guide and substantiate your social media marketing strategy based on comprehensive insights concerning audiences, industry verticals, and the LinkedIn ad landscape." Social Media Today notes that that assertion "may slightly overstate the value on offer here," but says that even in its early days, the function does indeed "provide some new ways to locate industry-specific insights and information, based on LinkedIn usage." - ADWEEK

6. SurveyMonkey has expanded its offerings for marketers. The polling platform announced Thursday that its DIY market research solution, SurveyMonkey Audience, has launched a new services bundle called SurveyMonkey Audience Premium. The paid add-ons will include dedicated account management, team-wide product trainings, and access to B2B and low-incidence niche targets on multiple panels, all features that the company says will "improve marketers’ research experiences." - MARKETING LAND

7. Overstock's CEO reserved some special praise for its CMO on his way out. The coverage of Patrick Byrne's resignation has been quite colorful - and has rightfully focused on his admitted "deep state" ties and a romance with a high-profile alleged Russian spy. But lost in the cloak-and-dagger drama was Byrne's applause for Overstock's top marketer, buried in his arguably rambling departure note. According to Byrne, "Chief Marketing Officer JP Knab is the greatest master of Digital Marketing I have ever met," and made the (presumably inside) joke that he "will miss watching Commander Data find new arbitrage." Hey, in these days of vanishing CMOs, credit should be taken where it's found. - CNBC

8. EGGO's new campaign is focusing on fathers. With an eye, perhaps, to the UK's ban on marketing efforts that promote gender stereotypes, the waffle brand's newest campaign is entitled "The Dad’s Inner Eggo Thoughts" and humorously shows just that. The spot, which premiered during Animal Planet's "The Crocodile Hunter: Best of Steve Irwin," shows a dad reluctantly sharing his waffles with two of his children, as he ruefully thinks "they'd better take care of me when I'm older." - ISPOT.TV

9. The Civil Air Patrol is looking for a Chief of Marketing and Strategic Communications. The volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, which is based inside Alabama's Maxwell Air Force Base, says that the newly-created position "will develop, lead and execute CAP’s overall brand strategy and marketing and strategic communications plan." - AMA

10. Southwestern University is on the hunt for a CCMO. The school, which is based in Georgetown, Texas, says that the position oversees execution of the school's "comprehensive marketing and communications plan," with a focus on the school's "distinguished reputation, outstanding students, excellent faculty, dedicated staff, engaged alumni, parents, friends and foundation supporters, and dynamic executive leadership." - AMA